Carl Bell and Jody Abbott were in a college campus band, 'Wanted' (along with Robert Wagner and Mark Crawford) in Henderson, Tennessee. The band 'Wanted' transitioned into 'Phoenix', which was a touring band for the college primarily used to recruit prospective students. After college, the band carried on as, 'Real to Reel', playing local clubs in Tennessee. Singer/guitarist Brett Scallions joined the group after Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie saw him in a bar in Jackson, Tennessee in 1993.[2] That same year, keyboardist/vocalist Erik Avakian joined the lineup and the band moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1994 where they played at local Pennsylvania bars and nightclub as 'Small The Joy'. Changing the band name to 'Fuel', the band released their first EPPorcelain in 1996 and sold well locally, spawning a small radio hit with "Shimmer". The popularity of the EP brought them to the attention of Sony's 550 imprint, which released their second EP Hazleton the following year.

Upon signing to Epic, the band entered Longview Farm recording studios in Massachusetts, along with producer Steven Haigler and session drummer Jonathan Mover due to problems with Abbott. The band's full length debut, Sunburn, came out in 1998. "Shimmer" was again included and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks charts, No. 11 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, No. 37 on the Adult Top 40 chart and at No. 42 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as Platinum single sales in Australia; while, the other singles ("Bittersweet" which peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Rock Mainstream charts, "Jesus or a Gun", and "Sunburn,") received some airplay. The songs "Shimmer" and "Sunburn" are also featured on the charitable album Live in the X Lounge. "Sunburn" was also featured in the movie Scream 3, and the band contributed the non-LP track "Walk the Sky" to the 1998 American Godzilla film. The band hit the road in support of the release, but problems with Abbott continued. Once again Mover was enlisted, this time to play drums on tour while the band sought out a full-time drummer to join. It should be noted that the liner notes for the cassette and CD issues of "Sunburn" list the band members as Carl Bell (guitar), Brett Scallions (vocals), Jeff Abercrombie (bass), and Kevin Miller (drums), although Jonathan Mover is credited with playing all the drums and percussion on the record. The band picture includes Miller, though he did not play on the record. The album Sunburn was the band's first Gold and Platinum selling record.

In 2000, Fuel came back with their second album, Something Like Human, featuring the single "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" which was No. 1 for 12 weeks on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart. The single was also named Billboard '​s No. 5 Rock Song of the Decade according to their Best of the 2000s Rock Songs chart. In 2013 "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" became the No. 6 Alternative Rock song of the past 25 years according to Billboard '​s Alternative Chart 25th Anniversary: Top 100 Songs. Something Like Human peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200[3] and was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA on September 25, 2001.[4]

The group's third album, Natural Selection, named after Darwinian theory, was released in September 2003 and debuted at No. 15 on the U.S. Billboard charts.[3] The extended lag time between Something Like Human and Natural Selection was due to legal problems[5] and lead singer Scallions having to recover from surgery to repair a deviated septum he suffered from an on-stage collision with Bell.[6] The album spawned the hit "Falls on Me", which hit No. 9 and No. 11 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks and the Modern Rock Tracks charts, and reaching No. 13 and No. 17 on the Mainstream Top 40 and Adult Top 40 charts, peaking at No. 52 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.[7] The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2004 for best engineered album,[8] and the band contributed the song "Won't Back Down" to the Daredevil soundtrack earlier in the year. They released their greatest hits album The Best of Fuel on December 13, 2005. Their song "Quarter" was featured in the games "Need for Speed: Underground", "NFL Street" and "NASCAR Thunder 2004".

After disagreements (both public and private), drummer Kevin Miller was dismissed from the band in 2004. On February 7, 2006, Fuel announced through their website that singer Brett Scallions had left the band. Fuel had already laid down the instrumental tracks for their fourth album and soon started auditioning singers so the band could move forward. Abercrombie and Bell took notice of American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry, after he performed "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" on the show. The single shot up to the Top 10 download list on iTunes and stayed there for a number of days. This also sparked interest in other Fuel songs, which began to appear in the Top 100 download chart on iTunes. On March 3, 2006, judge Randy Jackson stated in an interview that Daughtry had been offered the opportunity to become Fuel's new lead singer.[9] Fuel confirmed their interest on their official website.[10] On May 11, 2006, Abercrombie and Bell appeared on the TV show Extra to officially offer Daughtry the job.[11] However, though flattered, Daughtry turned down this offer.[12] By this time also, Tommy Stewart, formerly of Godsmack, was named as Fuel's drummer on Fuel's Myspace page.[13]

On June 8, 2006, Bell announced that the band had found a new lead singer but were waiting confirmation from the record label to announce it.[14] Still, they officially entered the studio in mid-August with producer Scott Humphrey to start recording their fourth album. Due to other commitments Stewart was not available to play drums on the album, so Tommy Lee and Josh Freese performed drums in his place. The band has posted photos from within the studio fairly often on the band's website and MySpace.

On March 9, 2007, Carl Bell officially announced that Fuel's next album, complete with new band members, was fully mixed and going to mastering, and on April 19, 2007, he posted on Fuel's official website that their new lead singer has been confirmed as Toryn Green.

On April 8, 2010, the reformation of Fuel was finally confirmed in an official press release.[17] Also the Fuel MySpace and Facebook were updated with the new line-up and tour dates. The new band website is www.fuelrocks.com.

"There is only one original of anything" says Scallions, "and that includes Fuel. The original lineup with Carl, Jeff, Jody and myself will always be something special to all of us, and our first Fuelies (a term for Fuel fans) but it has been thirteen years since the original lineup was intact, and since then many great musicians have come and gone. The lineup I put together for Fuel is not meant to replace or diminish what any of the original members created. Just the opposite, it is to give our fans a live destination, and to keep the Fuel name alive for a new generation to discover. Maybe someday we'll all get on the same page and play together again, but life happens and the next thing you know you just can't jump on a bus and take off for a month, let alone a year."

It was later announced on June 25, 2010 that former Shinedown guitarist Jasin Todd had joined the band to replace Yogi Lonich on lead guitar.[18] As of January 2011, Yogi Lonich has since returned to the band as lead guitarist. Jasin Todd has left the band on good terms. As of March 2011, Brett Scallions has started a new band called World Fire Brigade [19] The lineup for World Fire Brigade includes all current members of Fuel in addition to Smile Empty Soul vocalist/guitarist Sean Danielsen.

The band played Bethlehem Musikfest alongside Buckcherry, however Yogi Lonich was not on stage. A friend of Scallions, Martin Estrada sat in and played lead for the show. Brett Scallions announced on his official Facebook page that Yogi Lonich was dismissed from the band. Scallions stated that Lonich was not committed or loyal to the band, and the two were in a "heated discussion" so therefore he is no longer playing with the band. Scallions also hinted that there is in fact a new Fuel record in the works and also introduced the band's new lead guitarist, Andy Andersson. The band will continue its tour and will also be playing new material during the sets. Scallions also noted that Lonich was never in World Fire Brigade, but rather recorded lead solos on some songs that will be released on the upcoming album.[20]

Fuel entered the studio on March 8, 2012 to record their fifth full length studio album, Puppet Strings. Eddie Wohl, producer of the World Fire Brigade album, will produce the new Fuel album. In late September the band re-entered the studio to complete the guitar and bass tracks for the record. As of February 2013 the band are still in the studio finishing off vocal and guitar tracks. Originally planned for a 2012 release the album has now been pushed back to a possible mid-2013 release. This marks 6 years since the band released their previous album Angels & Devils with (then) lead singer Toryn Green.

On April 30, 2013 drummer Ken Schalk announced his departure from the band citing reasons that if touring got in the way of family time it would be time to move on. On that same day Scallions announced new drummer Bryan "Keelgood" Keeling. The band will, however, keep Schalk's drum tracks, as referenced by Keeling in his first interview since joining the band.[21] On April 30, 2013 Brett Scallions announced that a new Fuel single is targeted for a mid-summer release via download once the "details have been worked out and handshakes have been made".

On June 26, 2013, Scallions announced that Bryan Keeling was going out on tour with Eric Sardinas in Europe and that Shannon Boone (current drummer for Puddle of Mudd) has joined the band. Scallions also commented on the new album; "The record has been recorded and is so close to being released for all of you I can taste it. There will be big announcements very soon regarding release dates, singles, videos, and much much more. Take care and we will see you all soon at a venue near you!"

Recently Scallions announced that the record is done and the band just needs to work out "a few bugs" and that "a record label is already on hand" although he did not mention which label yet. In a July 22, 2013 interview with the Oakland Free Press it was revealed that the new record had an album title, the title was revealed as Puppet Strings, which is also a potential title track with Robby Krieger of The Doors as special guest lead guitar.

Scallions confirmed that the new album was mixed by Ben Grosse who also collaborated with Fuel on the Something Like Human album. According to Scallions the new album is currently in the mastering stage of production.

It was announced through Guitar World on December 5, 2013 that the album indeed titled, Puppet Strings, will be released March 4, 2014. The song, "Yeah!" was released for free download on the website as well, although it was believed to be the first single, Scallions stated that it is not the first single, but rather a "teaser." The first single, "Soul To Preach To" was released late January, 2014.[22]